Trial By Fire
by Aerathi
Summary: When a pair of bank robberies become more than they appear, the team must rely on a new member to get to the bottom of it. I apologize if the ending seems rushed. It was one way in my head and I didn't feel it come out right on paper.
1. Chapter 1

Lights from numerous police cruisers flood the street outside the Los Angeles Federal Union Trust. A black SUV moves slowly through the flurry of police activity before coming to a stop. Special Agent Don Eppes exits the vehicle removing his sunglasses. He's approached by Colby and David.

Colby addresses him immediately as the trio head towards the bank. "Five man crew hit the bank just after opening," Colby begins. "Left two bodies, a woman we think was going for the silent alarm and the branch manager shot execution style in the center of the lobby."

"Right, okay so it was the same as the last one then," Don replies. "How much did they get?"

"One and a half million, exactly." David answers him, a bit of concern in his voice.

"So they hit two banks in the same week," Don thinks aloud.

"Hit both banks for the exact same amount," Colby adds.

The three men enter the bank, heading straight towards the blood soaked body of the bank manager. "But why execute the managers?" David asks them. "You think they're sending us a message?"

Don kneels near the pooling blood. He notes the red caked hair covering the gunshot wound. "I don't know, but we better find out fast."

*****

Charlie Eppes stands alone in his garage, scribbling on a black board. He pauses, deep in thought. He doesn't notice Amita enter behind him.

"Any luck on the robbery?" she interrupts him.

He watches her, losing his concentration. "Not yet," he admits. "There's nothing in the FBI files that seem to match."

"You think they've done this before?" she asks curiously.

"I think there's a very high probability of it," he responds. "It was too efficient for this to be a first."

She gives him a gentle kiss. "Sounds like you need a break."

"What I need is a vacation," he says smiling at her. He wraps his arms around her, holding her closer. "Speaking of which, are you ready for the week long getaway. No students, no blackboards."

"No bullets," she adds playfully.

"Just you and me, a whole week with nothing but golden beaches and blue skies," he says.

"How long until you try and count the grains of sand?" she jokes.

"Well that should only take about an hour, so the rest of my time is yours," he says, drawing a beautiful smile from Amita before they share another kiss.

They hold each other a moment before his ringing phone interrupts them. "But first." He opens the phone and holds it to his ear. "Hey Don."

Amita watches him elated, until his smile disappears. "What's wrong?" she asks.

"I'll be right there," Charlie says before closing the phone. "They hit another one."

*****

Charlie sits in the briefing room with David, Colby and his brother Don. They all watch the huge screen intently as five unmasked men exit the bank. Don pauses the video.

"In and out in under five minutes," Colby says.

"Maybe that explains why they took what they did," David correlates.

"Yeah, but still," Don interrupts them. "With the amount of money in the first vault why not just take it all at once. I mean a second robbery is risky."

"I have to agree with Don," says Charlie. "A simple risk/reward analysis shows that one big heist has a higher payout for the risk involved than two smaller ones."

"Unless the acts themselves have meaning," Colby concludes.

"Which means it's likely they'll hit again," David adds.

Liz enters the room. "Background check on our victims just came back. No correlation between the two from this morning and the manager from the first bank."

"Okay, well there has to be some connection," Don says, unwilling to accept otherwise.

"I think in these instances the similarities might be the bank operations themselves," Charlie responds. "I can run a finite state machine minimizing algorithm to determine the process similarities and predict which bank they will probably hit next."

"A finite what?" asks Colby.

"It's like a fast food restaurant," Charlie responds. "Each restaurant has its own process for preparing a hamburger, but the ultimate goal is the same; a quick burger. Based on things like grilling procedures and condiments used we can determine how long it takes the burger to be prepared and which restaurant prepared it. In this case we would examine the process of the banks and find out which ones best fit the procedure used by the robbers to reach their ultimate goal in the time allotted."

"A one and a half million dollar burger," Liz finishes.

"Exactly," Charlie replies.

None of the team had noticed Special Agent Matthew Reed enter the briefing room. Reed is a perfectly poised statue of a man, very fit, very handsome. "Wouldn't a simple intersection detection algorithm make more sense?" he asks.

The whole room shifts their attention to Agent Reed, especially Liz who is quite taken with the man. Charlie stares at him a moment before responding. "Come again?"

"Well you're assuming these guys will hit again," Reed says, motioning to the frozen frame of the men on the screen. "Five guys rob a bank; don't go through the trouble of putting a mask on. My guess is they don't plan on sticking around long enough to get caught."

"Who are you exactly?" David asks.

"Sorry, Matt Reed," he introduces himself.

"Ah, the new guy," says Colby.

"So what's this intersection thing you were talking about?" Don asks.

"Intersection detection. Find out who these banks had in common that made them a target," Reed explains. "Maybe find out who did it before they skip town."

"Can you do that Charlie?" Don asks.

"Of course," Charlie states. "I'll get started right now."

Don nods his approval to his brother. "Okay good. Reed, let's get some coffee."

Reed nods and the two of them head out the door. Charlie watches them go in quiet contemplation. "Is he a new analyst?" Charlie asks once the two men are outside.

"New field agent," Colby responds.

"He's smart," Charlie says.

"Cute too," Liz adds, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. She stands there embarrassed. "What?" she blushes.

*****

Don and Reed stand outside the FBI building. Don leans against the concrete barrier and Reed looks out over it. Don takes a moment before speaking. "So how'd you know about that math stuff up there?"

"I figured if I was transferring here I should probably brush up a little," Reed answers. "To be honest I have no idea what I said."

Don laughs. "Well it sounded good." He gets a little more serious. "So why here?" he continues. "The director gave you an open ended ticket to anywhere. Why us?"

"Are you kidding? Who would pass up a chance to work with the legendary Eppes brothers," he jokes, getting another small chuckle out of Don. "I don't know," he continues, "this team is a little unorthodox, what with mixing the math and the crime. I like unorthodox."

"So what else can you tell me about yourself?" Don presses.

Reed looks at him and smiles, knowing what he wants to hear. "I'm afraid I can't tell you much more than what you read in my file."

"There's not much in your file," Don continues, "Everything's classified."

"Which is why I can't tell you more," Reed explains coyly.

"You're not really telling me anything," Don says. "I think we might run into some serious trust issues here, you know?"

"I'm used to it," Reed replies.

"So, what, covert ops then?" Don asks. Reed looks away uncomfortably. "You gotta tell me something."

"Look, it's not that I don't want to tell you," Reed says. "I can't. What I can say is that someone thinks I'm good at what I do or I wouldn't be standing here talking to you."

"Fair enough," Don says.

David approaches the pair in a hurry. "I think Charlie's got something."

"That was fast," notes Reed.

"That's Charlie," Don says as the men head back to the building.

*****

Charlie, Liz and Colby sit in the briefing room when Don and the others enter. "What do you got for me Charlie?"

"I ran the intersection detection against the two banks, and neither of the banks have any staff in common," Charlie says. "Going deeper, looking at other things like security systems and training programs we found a match."

"Both banks use the same IT outsourcing company to maintain their computers," Colby adds, "Beauford Tech."

"Ok, so we start there," Reed says, triggering a laugh from Liz. Don grins at them. "What?"

"Definitely the new guy," Colby says.

"I ran a search against Beauford Tech's employees," Charlie continues, "checking their records against the FBI database. Again, no matches. However this guy..." a picture of a young man wearing glasses and a pocket protector appears on the screen.

"That's a little clich ," David says.

"Marcus Ezykowski," says Charlie. "He has a brother, Lyle Ezykowski who served five years for armed robbery." Charlie hits some keys and brings up a picture of Lyle.

"So is this our guy?" Don asks.

Charlie pecks at the keyboard and a picture of the men from the bank appear next to Lyle's. The picture zooms in on one of them men and a facial recognition process runs. "93% sure," Charlie states. "And we have an address."

"Okay, get everyone together and call SWAT," Don says. "We leave in twenty." The team stands and collects their things. Reed begins to head out with the team when Don stops him. "Reed, why don't you sit this one out."

Charlie notices a quick flash of disappointment, maybe even anger in Reed's face. Reed hides it quickly. "You got it," he says.

*****

David and Colby's car move along the road swiftly in a procession of federal and local law enforcement vehicles. Both men wear their flak vests in anticipation of what lies ahead. David interrupts the silence. "What do you think of the new guy?" he asks.

Colby shrugs, "Still too early to tell."

"Liz seems to have taken a liking to him," David continues.

"Yeah, Charlie too," Colby adds. "He's gotta have something."

"What do you mean?" David asks curiously.

"Well the director personally vouched for the guy," Colby explains. "That's not nothin'." David nods, considering the notion.

The line of cars comes to a stop near a secluded home. The team rallies around Don. "SWAT will be here in three minutes," Don says. "Then we go."

*****

Charlie sits in the briefing room with Reed, who is repeatedly watching video of the robbery. "How long do you think your brother will keep me on the bench?"

"Hard to say," Charlie replies. "Probably wouldn't look good if he let you get shot on your first day, though."

Reed laughs at him. "Well kid, it ain't my first day."

Charlie laughs; he understands where Reed is coming from. "That was a good idea you had, about the intersection detection. You study math?"

"Me? God no," Reed chuckles. "My brother was an egg head, good with math and computers and that." Charlie notes the use of the word 'was' but decides not to press. They sit there in silence a few moments as Reed watches the video intently. "There's one thing that just don't add up here though."

"What's that?" Charlie asks.

"Why execute the managers?" Reed wonders.

Charlie shrugs, he doesn't really know. "David thinks they were sending a message."

"To who?" Reed continues, deep in thought.

*****

Don and Liz approach the front door of the rural home with a number of agents. Colby and David lead a tactical team at the rear of the house. "We're in position," David says through his microphone.

"On three," Don says. "One, two, three." Uniformed SWAT members break in the front door of the house and enter, guns at the ready. "FBI," Don yells.

In the back of the house Colby and David enter with their team. They efficiently make their way from room to room, giving the clear signal as they progress. Each room as empty as the last until they meet up with Don's team in the hall.

Both teams now stand before a closed door in the middle of the hall. The door flies open as the agents break through. Their faces immediately go pale. Each looks at the other for answers but no one has any.

*****

Reed sits in the briefing room staring intently at the video. Charlie stares at him. "Why do you think they were shot?" Charlie asks.

"I don't know," Reed admits. "But we're lucky they were."

Charlie doesn't know what Reed could possibly mean. "How so?"

"Well, they don't kill that manager, we never see this," Reed explains. Charlie continues to stare at him, confused. "This is the violent crimes division," Reed continues, "They don't kill that manager this case goes to the bank robbery task force. You never get involved and we don't put two and two together."

"So you think someone wanted us on this?" Charlie asks, beginning to realize where Reed is going.

"Could be," Reed says. "Could be someone wanted us to find Lysle."

"So it wasn't a message," Charlie reasons.

"It was an invitation," Reed finishes.

"But why would anyone want..." he stops short. Terror takes control of his face and a chill runs down his spine. He pulls out his phone, dialing frantically.

*****

Don and his agents stare in horror at the image before them. The five men from the bank video all lay lifeless around the room. Each of them having been executed.

"That's definitely our guy," Liz says regarding one of the men.

"Looks like someone found him first," Colby states.

"But why?" Liz wonders.

"Maybe so they don't lead back to whoever they were working for," David reasons.

Don stares at the mess when his phone rings. "Let's get forensics in here," he says before answering the phone. "What is it Charlie?"

*****

"Don you have to get out of there now, it's a trap," Charlie yells, pacing frantically around the briefing room.

"What?" Don asks.

"It's a setup," Charlie continues, "All of it. Get out of there now!"

*****

Don takes in the scene, slowly putting it together in his head. His face freezes in panic.

*****

Charlie continues to pace. "Don?" he asks, getting no response. "Don!? Don!?"

Charlie stands still, frozen in a panic of his own. 


	2. Chapter 2

A violent explosion erupts from the rural home. Debris is flung in every direction as flames engulf the tattered remains of the foundation.

*****

Charlie continues to stand terrified, keeping the phone at his ear. "Don?" he asks in a hushed, worried tone.

*****

Don kneels behind one of the cars outside the smoldering remains. The rest of his team sit or kneel behind various other vehicles. Each trying to slow their rapidly beating hearts. "That was close," Colby admits.

Don holds his phone back up to his ear. "I'm here Charlie," he says after a moment. "We're okay."

*****

Relief washes over Charlie as he sighs into the phone. "Oh thank god," he says.

"Hey Charlie," Don says over the phone. "Thanks."

Charlie stares at Reed who still sits in his chair. If Reed is relieved himself, he hides it well. "Don't thank me," Charlie says into the phone. "It was Agent Reed."

*****

Charlie stands in the bullpen with Agent Reed when Don appears from the elevator with the rest of the team. "Welcome back," Reed says as the team approaches.

"Thanks," Don says as he throws his gear on his desk. "Any idea who set us up?"

"We've been working on it," Charlie says, "But there's just not enough data. We're back at square one."

"Gonna be hard to find," Colby admits. "Our only lead just exploded."

"Well someone's pulling the strings," Don says. "I want to know who."

"I mean, I don't know," Charlie proclaims. "Maybe I can run some more analysis on Lyle, but without knowing who the other four men were," he sighs. "I'm not sure what else I can do."

"Maybe it doesn't matter," Reed says, thinking.

Don takes a seat in his chair. "What do you mean?"

"Well whoever these guys were working for knew enough about you to get you involved," Reed explains.

"Maybe someone we busted?" David asks.

"That's a long list," Colby says.

"It's something," Charlie states, starting to get an idea. "Maybe I can use a recommender system to," he pauses to think. "I need to get to my office."

"Okay, good," Don says, "Do that." Charlie rushes off.

Colby walks up to Reed, "Thanks man," he says. "I owe you one." David and Liz nod their agreement. Don looks at Reed a long moment before he himself nods to the new agent, saying 'good job'.

*****

Alan Eppes sits in front of the television watching a hockey game when Don enters. "Hey dad," Don says as he walks towards the kitchen. "Where's Charlie?"

"In the garage," Alan says nonchalantly. "Figuring out who tried to blow you up today."

Don laughs a little at his father and proceeds to get a beer before coming back. "He told you about that did he?"

"Oh yeah, very exciting stuff," Alan replies. "So this new guy of yours," he continues. "He's the real deal huh?"

"I don't know," Don says, "I mean he's good, you know, but..."

"He saved your life didn't he?" Alan presses.

"He saved a lot of lives today," Don admits. "He's just a little too, you know; shrouded in mystery for my taste."

"Aren't we all," Alan continues.

"Not like this," Don says. "It seems like his entire career is classified. I don't know what to make of the guy."

"Well, you tend to be a bit hard on the new guys," Alan tells him matter of factly.

Don smiles knowingly, conceding his dad's point when Charlie enters. "Oh, hey Don."

Don turns to see his brother. "Hey," he says, "find anything?"

Charlie shrugs, disappointed. "Nothing. Every road leads to a dead end."

"Well, you know, that's all right," Don says comforting him. "It's been a long day."

"Are you packed for your trip?" Alan interrupts.

"Oh right, the vacation," Don says. "When are you leaving?"

"Sunday," Charlie responds. "But I can postpone it."

"No, that's all right," Don says. "We still got a few days. Why don't you take a break, grab a beer." Don's phone rings. He takes a look before answering. "Eppes." He listens for a moment. "Who? Okay, I'll be right there."

"What is it?" Charlie asks.

Don shrugs at his brother. "I don't know exactly," he says. "Someone from counter terrorism wants to talk to me."

"Counter terrorism?" Alan asks, interested.

"Yeah, there's some link to our robberies," Don explains.

"Want me to come with you?" Charlie asks.

"No, that's all right," Don says. "I'll let you know if we learn anything new."

"Well, duty calls," Alan adds. "You hungry Charlie?"

*****

Colby meets Don as he gets off the elevator. "Where's he at?" Don asks almost immediately.

"Briefing room," Colby responds as he falls in behind Don. David and Reed are in there already, Liz is on her way."

"Okay, good," Don says.

*****

Special Agent Robert Perez, a distinguished looking man in his late forties rises as the agents enter. "Agent Eppes," he says greeting Don. "Robert Perez, counter terrorism task force."

"Nice to meet you," Don greets him, extending his hand. "You have some information for me?" he asks wasting no time.

"Maybe," Perez admits. "Glad to see you and your team are okay."

"Thanks, yeah we're fine." Don continues. "Let's see what you got."

"A few months ago," Perez begins, "The C.T. unit got word of some missile guidance chips that went missing from one of our military research facilities. We hadn't had much success tracking them down until we got word a few days ago that these chips went up for sale here in Los Angeles. We recovered them just this morning."

"So okay, what does this have to do with us," Don asks, not seeing the connection.

"The asking price on the street was three million dollars exactly," Perez says. "We believe that this man," he punches some keys and a picture of an older, menacing man appears on the screen. "Victor Romanoff is the one looking to make the buy."

"So this guy robs the banks to pay for them?" David asks.

"What like a fund raiser?" Don asks.

"Why try and kill us though?" Colby wonders.

"Well Victor didn't know we were onto the chips." Perez reasoned. "Our guess is he was trying to use you to keep us busy. Killing some federal agents would cause enough chaos to allow him to complete the buy."

"So let's go check him out," Don concludes.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy," Perez concedes. "Victor is a very careful, extremely paranoid man. We start sniffing around, he'll bury his head in the sand and who knows when we see him again. The FBI has been trying to bring this guy in for years, but he's like teflon. Nothing ever sticks."

Don considers this. "Okay so, what then?"

"It stands to reason," Reed says, "This guy don't know that the chips aren't still out there."

"You're suggesting we set up a meet," Colby realizes.

"Yeah, but this guy knows who we are," David warns.

"Not all of us," Colby states, referring to Reed.

Don looks at Reed for a long time, considering this idea.

*****

Perez sits with Don's team going over all the information they have on Victor Romanoff. "This is Victor's son, Kyle Romanoff. He's a bit of a loose cannon and will most likely be the one Victor will send to meet you. We need to figure out a way to skip Kyle and deal directly with his father."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Reed says unworried. "We should probably try to get some ears on him."

"Yeah, how do you plan on pulling that off?" Liz asks.

Reed doesn't answer; he looks through each of the pictures of Kyle studiously before finally seeing it. "There," he says, pointing to the gun that hangs from Kyle's waist in almost every picture. "Can we get a clip for that sidearm?"

"You're gonna bug his gun?" Colby asks doubtfully.

Reed looks at him not understanding Colby's uncertainty. "Why not?" he asks. Colby shrugs, conceding the point.

"All right," Don interrupts them. "We'll set up the meet to be in the open so we can keep eyes on you. Anything happens you give us the signal and we come in."

*****

Agent Reed leans up against a black BMW in a large, dark and empty parking lot. "Still no sign of them," he says to himself, never once indicating where his mic is placed. "You got anything?"

Don watches through the scope of a rifle from a distance. "Nothing yet," he says into his radio.

David looks through a pair of binoculars noticing a yellow Ferrari in the distance. "Yellow Ferrari approaching from the west," he says into his radio. "Got a black Cadillac with it."

"I got them," Reed replies, looking west. "This is going to be easier than I thought." The Ferrari gets close to him before he continues. "Remember, you hold off if I don't give the signal."

"Just be careful," Don says, "Everyone be ready."

Reed stands as the Ferrari pulls close to him, the Cadillac behind it. Kyle exits the Ferrari alone and two larger men with automatic weapons draped around their shoulder exit the Cadillac. Kyle approaches, "You Smith?"

Reed nods. "Nice car."

Kyle smiles, appreciating the compliment. "Yeah, she's a real beauty ain't she? You got the chips."

"Why don't we get to know each other a little first," Reed says.

"You playing games with me Smith?" Kyle asks, agitated.

"No games," Reed says bluntly. "Just don't like dealing with amateurs is all."

"Come again?" Kyle asks, moving past agitated into anger.

"Guy shows up in a car like that," Reed continues, "Tells me he ain't too interested in keeping a low profile. Tells me maybe that guy don't know what he's doing."

"Is that right?" Kyle asks, grinning.

"That's right," Reed replies.

Kyle pulls his gun and points it at Reed's head. "Cowboy too," Reed says calmly.

Don speaks into his radio, determined to keep the rest of the team as calm as Reed. "Everyone hold, be ready but hold your position."

Reed looks Kyle in the eye, showing not even the slightest hint of fear. "Hate to burst your bubble, but this ain't the first time I've looked down the barrel of a gun."

"You show up here alone," Kyle continues, "With the nerve to call me an amateur?" Kyle laughs at the irony, but Reed remains calm. In an instant Reed grabs the gun from Kyle's hand, twisting his arm forcing Kyle to his knees. The two men point their weapons at Reed who in turn points the pistol at Kyle.

"Presumptuous too," Reed states. "Add that trait to the mix and things start piling up to a fella I don't much like." Kyle grimaces in pain. Reed nods his head towards the two men on either side of him. "Why don't you two take a look at your chest." The men are confused. "Go ahead," he continues.

The men look down. Each has a red dot from the laser site of a sniper rifle hovering around their heart. Reed lets the image sink in before continuing. "I suggest you put down them rifles and take a few steps back 'fore things get messy."

The two men set down the weapons and Reed releases his grip on Kyle. All three men take a couple steps back. Reed takes a close look at the pistol he's holding. "This is a nice piece," Reed says. He drops the clip out and catches it, placing it in his inner jacket pocket.

He turns his back to the men, demonstrating to them openly who's in charge of the situation. He opens the pistol and examines every part of it closely. "Nice balance," he continues.

Reed makes his way back towards the BMW as he takes the clip out of his jacket and places it in the gun. "Tell you what," he says as he approaches the driver's side door of his car. "Why don't you fellas call me back when you're serious about making a deal." He starts to get in the car.

He pauses before he's all the way in, standing back up. "Oh and next time," he says before pointing the gun at the men. The men raise their hands as Reed rotates the gun, aiming it at the Ferrari. He puts a bullet in each of the two tires facing him. "Be a little more discreet."

He tosses the gun back to Kyle who catches it. Reed gets in the BMW and speeds away. "Now we just wait for the phone call," he says calmly as he drives off, pleased with himself.

Don looks up from the scope of his rifle, unsure of what to say. 


	3. Chapter 3

Reed sits in the bullpen with Colby and David, all of the men on a high after the successful meet. "I gotta hand it to you," David says, "I didn't think you were gonna pull it off."

"Yeah," Reed says, "Nothin' to it."

"Nice work planting the bug," Colby adds. "Not quite what I was expecting."

Reed smiles at him. "Yeah? What were you expecting?"

"I don't know," Colby continues. "I thought maybe you'd ask him to see it."

"Well I did," Reed explains. "Just not, you know; politely."

"Well when Don gets here," David continues, as the elevator doors open revealing Don and Liz.

Colby nods towards the elevator. "He's here now."

The two enter the bullpen and Don wastes no time. "Reed let's take a walk."

Liz shrugs to Colby and David as Don and Reed walk off.

The two men approach the kitchen and Don pours himself a cup of coffee before speaking. He's obviously agitated but his voice remains relatively calm. "So what was that out there tonight?"

"I don't follow," Reed states.

Don looks at him sternly. "You could have gotten yourself killed, I mean..."

"Exactly how many ways do you figure that this could have went down?" Reed asks, interrupting him.

"I don't know, but I can't have you running around like some kind of..."

"Some kind of what?" Reed interrupts again.

"Some kind of, I don't know," Don responds, "hotshot."

"I had to sell it," Reed explains. "I couldn't just ask that kid to run home and get daddy."

"I know that," Don says, "but..." Don pauses, not really sure how to continue.

Reed stares at Don, finally realizing his problem. "You're not upset about how things went down tonight. You're worried you won't be able to control me."

"Should I have something to worry about?" Don asks bluntly.

"No, you shouldn't," Reed answers him.

"Alright," Don says heading out the door into the bullpen and taking a seat in his chair. Reed watches him for a moment.

Colby leans in toward Don. "To be fair Don, that went about as good as it could have."

Don nods his agreement before looking back at Reed. "Yeah, I know."

*****

The rest of Don's team sits in the briefing room with Perez. They are listening to audio when Don enters. "Anything yet?"

"Kyle's going to see his father now," Liz states.

"Okay, good," Don continues. "I just talked to Charlie; he's updating his equations with the new profiles we got."

"Think he'll call?" Perez asks, uncertain.

Reed leans back, completely confident. "He'll call."

Liz removes her headphones and flips a switch putting the audio on speaker. "He's there."

"Okay, here we go," Don says as everyone focuses on the conversation.

The voices of Victor and his son Kyle fill the briefing room. Victor speaks with a thick Russian accent. "How did it go?"

"There was a problem," Kyle states, nervously.

"What kind of problem," Victor presses.

"He wouldn't do the deal," Kyle continues.

Victor's voice reveals that he knows more than he lets on. "Why not?" There's a moment of silence before Victor continues. "What do you think of this man?"

"He's smart," Kyle states. "He's careful."

"Do you believe he is a cop?" Victor asks, curiously.

"I don't know who he is," Kyle says frankly, "but I know he's not a cop."

"Yes Lawrence thinks this as well," Victor concludes.

A noticeable increase in concern can be heard in Kyle's voice. "You spoke to Lawrence?"

"I have," Victor states.

"Look, give me another chance," Kyle pleads.

"No more chances. I will do this deal myself," Victor concludes.

"We should kill this man," Kyle exclaims.

"You will do as you are told," Victor scolds him. "Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes, father," Kyle replies, sheepishly.

"Leave me," Victor says.

The team look at each other, satisfied as Liz switches off the audio.

"Okay, so good," Don says. "Now we just wait for the..." Don is cut off by the ringing of a cell phone Reed's carrying.

"That was fast," Colby notes.

"Alright, everyone quiet," Don says.

David is working a recording device as the team put ear buds in. "Okay," David says pointing to Reed.

Reed answers the phone. "Smith."

Victor's voice comes from the other end. "Mr. Smith, do you know who this is?"

"Should I?" Reed says blankly.

"No I suppose not," Victor continues. "You met an associate of mine last evening."

"The cowboy," Reed says, "Yeah I remember."

"Yes," Victor continues. "The cowboy. I should very much like to meet you."

"Same place, you name the time," Reed answers him.

"No this is no good," Victor explains. "There is a warehouse on Lincoln Way, two p.m. We meet there or we have no deal. Is this acceptable?"

Reed shrugs to the team. "This is acceptable."

"Okay then I see you there," Victor states before a click signals the end of the call.

"He's trying to eliminate the snipers," Colby states.

"What do we do?" David wonders.

"Well we can't send him in alone," Don admits.

Reed sits there in thought for a long moment before sitting up excitedly. "Do we have any C4?" he asks with a grin. "I think I have an idea."

*****

The team sets up far away from the warehouse to avoid being seen. Don speaks into his radio, "Okay we're gonna have to be pretty far back. It may take some time to get to you, so you get a bad feeling in there you let us know immediately."

*****

Reed leans against the same black BMW he had in the parking lot two nights prior. Again he speaks seemingly to know one, not giving up his microphone's position. "Copy that."

"Okay," Colby says over the radio. "We have two black Cadillacs coming in."

"Showtime," Reed says as the cars enter the warehouse.

The cars pull in a distance from Reed. Four men get out of each vehicle including Victor and Kyle. Kyle points towards Reed and nods before all eight men approach.

"Mr. Smith," Victor says greeting the agent. "Do you have a first name?"

"Just Smith," Reed responds.

Victor nods. "Of course." He motions to Kyle. "You remember my son?"

Reed nods to Kyle. "I remember."

"He says you are smart," Victor continues. "That you are clever."

"Well maybe he's not as dumb as he acts," Reed states, drawing a slight laugh from Victor. Kyle looks on angrily.

"Yes, perhaps you are right," Victor agrees. "He is not business man like you and me. He is, how did you put it? A cowboy."

Reed nods his understanding. "So you sent him to see how I'd react." Victor is obviously impressed with Reed.

"Yes, yes precisely. I like to see who I am dealing with," Victor explains.

"Can't say I blame you," Reed continues. "Man in our line of work. Can't be too careful."

"Yes, careful," Victor emphasizes Reed's point. "You are careful man, this I like. But there is problem."

"What kind of problem?" Reed asks, not sure where Victor is going.

"You are a man of plans," Victor explains. "Plans are secret. Plans are surprises. This is concern of mine."

Reed nods his understanding. "I thought that might be the case." He motions towards a crate covered by a sheet before approaching it. Victor follows curiously, two men escorting him the whole time.

Reed removes the sheet covering the crate, revealing some plastic explosives. "This is C4," he explains. "I got the whole place wired with it." He lifts up his arm revealing a wrist watch. "This monitors my pulse," he explains, "Anything happens to me, well, you men best have made your peace." He takes a moment to let it sink in. "There, no more secrets. No surprises."

Victor looks at Reed, seriously impressed. "You are good at this business I think," Victor says. "We can do business together." He motions to a couple of his guys. "Bring the case."

Reed heads to the BMW and pops the trunk. He pulls out the briefcase carrying the guidance chips. The two men meet in the middle and open the cases to show they contain what is expected. Satisfied they exchange cases.

"It was pleasure doing business with you," Victor says. The men are interrupted by a black Suburban barreling into the warehouse.

"Friends of yours?" Reed asks.

"Someone get me an ID on that Suburban," Don yells on the radio. "Move in, now, now! All units move in now!"

The men in the warehouse scatter not knowing what's going on as the Suburban pulls up. Masked men hop out and open fire with machine guns mowing down Victor's crew. They try to fight back but it's a massacre. Reed grabs the case with the guidance chips and ducks behind his BMW. "I need backup in here!"

One of the men grabs the other briefcase. "Where's the other case he yells? It's not here!"

Don and Colby followed by tactical units rush into the warehouse, guns at the ready. "FBI," Don yells.

The masked men open fire. "Let's go, let's go!" they holler to each other as they get back in the Suburban. Colby fires shots at the car as it speeds away.

Reed looks around at the mess as Colby and Don approach him. "You okay?" Don asks. Reed nods, blankly. "Where are the guidance chips?"

"Here," Reed says handing the case to Don, who takes them and starts getting control of the scene. Colby stands there staring at Reed who continues to look around the warehouse blankly. "Huh."

"What is it?" Colby asks.

Reed looks at him a moment. "Can't say I saw that coming." 


	4. Chapter 4

Don sits in the briefing room with David and Liz when Colby enters. "I ran the plates we pulled off the Suburban," Colby begins. "They belong to a blue Honda Civic," he says almost not believing it himself.

"Stolen plates?" Liz asks, surprised.

Don is annoyed by this revelation. "So, what then, we got nothing?"

Colby shrugs, he has no answers. "Where's Reed?" he asks, noticing Reed's absence.

"I sent him over to the house to see if Charlie's got anything," Don replies as his phone rings. "Wait," he continues looking at the phone. "Here they are now." Don answers the ringing phone. "Hey Charlie."

Charlie stands in front of the blackboard in his garage with agent Reed. On the blackboard are pictures of the bank robbers as well as pictures of Victor and his son. The two groups of pictures have lines drawn up to a box with a question mark in it.

"Don," Charlie says excitedly. "I've been analyzing the data you gave me on Victor Romanoff and I don't think he was behind the robberies."

"What do you mean?" Don asks. "Like the robberies weren't related?"

"No, they were," Charlie states sure of himself. "It just wasn't Victor."

"Okay, then who?" Don asks.

"That I can't tell you," Charlie sighs. "But I think whoever it is has been playing both sides."

"What do you mean?" Don asks.

"Whoever planned those robberies likely," Charlie begins but is interrupted by Amita's scream. "Amita?"

Don looks worried as he listens through the phone. "Charlie? What's going on?"

Charlie heads towards the house but Agent Reed grabs him holding him back. They both stand there watching nervously as Amita enters the garage with her hands up. Closely following her in is a gun.

Don stands unsure of what's going on. "Charlie?" he continues, listening for any response. The line goes dead. The other agents look at each other realizing that something is going on. "Call LAPD and have them meet us at the house," he continues quickly.

Several police and FBI vehicles sit outside of the Eppes home. Don stands at the back of an ambulance speaking with Amita who has an ice pack on the back of her head. She looks shaken up. "There were four of them," Amita continues nervously. "They took Charlie." Her eyes begin to well up.

"It's okay," Don says. "We'll find him."

David approaches in a hurry. "Neighbors saw a beige van sitting out front for just a few minutes. They didn't get the plates." David notices the furious look in Don's eyes. "Reed's with him," he continues trying to comfort Don. It doesn't help.

Two masked men with guns open the sliding door of a beige van, revealing Charlie and Reed, hands tied behind their back. Charlie appears scared while Reed remains relatively calm. "Move," one of the men says, motioning with his weapon. The two exit the vehicle.

Charlie and Reed, followed by the men with guns, enter a large abandoned warehouse. "Please, just let us go," Charlie pleads, frightened beyond belief.

One of the men pushes Charlie from behind, "Shut up," he says, angrily. He grabs Charlie by the collar and drags him along as they pull Reed into a side room.

In the small room, Agent Reed stands with two of the masked men, both pointing automatic weapons at him. One of the men lowers his weapon and drags the agent, slamming him down in a chair. The agent sits there staring directly at a video camera. "Read this," the man says holding a piece of paper in front of the agent. Reed looks at the paper and then back up at the men.

Charlie sits in a chair in the middle of the large warehouse when they drag Reed out of the room. The men toss him in a seat across from Charlie. They tie his legs and body to the chair before all of the men head off.

"You okay?" Reed asks concerned. Charlie manages to nod, fear written all over his face. "Whatever happens," Reed continues as Charlie looks away nervously. "Hey look at me." Charlie focuses on the agent. "Whatever happens, you don't say anything. Understand? Not a word." Charlie nods his agreement.

Don paces frantically around the briefing room with the rest of his team. Alan and Amita sit in with them. Everyone is concerned, Don looks outraged. Colby interrupts the silence, "Okay, let's think about this," he begins. "Charlie said someone was playing both sides. The people we're looking for are probably the same people that made a play for the chips at the warehouse."

"Which means they're probably looking to make a trade," David adds hopefully. Colby nods his agreement, but Don seems to be ignoring them.

"Donnie," Alan says interrupting them. "You need to stay calm. Your brother needs you right now." Don looks at his father, thinking. He nods.

"Okay," Don says bringing his attention back to the world. "Whoever it is knows an aweful lot about us, I mean," he sighs.

"They use the first crew," David adds, "to raise the money."

"Then they kill them to cover their tracks," Colby reasons.

"Okay, yeah," Don follows. "Then they hit Victor's crew next."

"Didn't they try to blow you up?" Alan asks bluntly.

"To keep the FBI busy while they made the buy," Colby answers.

"Maybe," Liz states, thinking.

"What do you mean?" Don asks curiously.

"Well what if the bomb wasn't intended to buy time," she reasons. "What if the purpose was to get the guidance chips back on the street?"

"You think they knew we had them," David follows.

"But the first robbery happened a few days before the chips were recovered," Colby says.

"Well like I said, they knew an aweful lot about us," Don continues as the pieces begin to fall into place.

Colby begins to understand. "So they knew we were coming for them, which means..."

"We have a mole," Liz states.

They are interrupted by an analyst that walks in the room. "Agent Eppes, this came for you." He hands Eppes the package.

"What is it?" David asks as Don opens it.

"A video," Don says looking around at everyone in the room.

Charlie sits quietly staring at agent Reed when one of the men approaches. The man is no longer wearing his mask. Reed winks reassuringly at Charlie before addressing his captor. "You must be the ugly one," he begins. The man ignores Reed, unrolling a cloth filled with various blades. "Hey, I'm talking to you."

The man smiles at Reed, knowing this one is going to be fun. He let's the sight of the blades sink in before approaching Reed. The agent smiles at his captor before a backhand strikes him across the face.

"Seriously?" Reed asks. "Open handed? Do I look like a woman?" The man stands above the agent smiling before his closed fist comes crashing down into Reed's face.

Don and the team sit in the briefing room watching the end of the video of Reed on the giant screen. "Follow the included instructions to make the drop or they will kill us both," Reed says.

The team looks on as the video ends. "We need to find out who the mole is," David says.

Don rewinds the video and plays it back. They all stare at it again, but as the video begins Don notices something through the glass wall. He heads out of the room with purpose. David watches Don as he walks off out of sight. His gaze is interrupted when Amita notices something on the video. "Does he always blink that much?" she asks.

"Not really," Liz states taking note.

Colby watches closer. "I don't believe it," he says amazed.

"Is that..." David begins, not believing it either.

"Morse code," Colby finishes.

Agent Perez walks down the hall of the FBI building when Don grabs him from behind. "Where are they?" Don yells as he pushes Perez onto a desk, holding him by the shirt.

"Are you crazy?" Perez asks, caught off guard.

"What was the plan?" Don asks, angry. "You kill a few FBI agents and this whole case falls under your jurisdiction, is that right?"

"I don't know what your talking about!" Perez exclaims.

"You couldn't get the chips back on the street without drawing attention, so you used us!" Don continues. Colby and David grab Don from behind and pull him off the agent.

"What are you doing?" David asks worried.

"You're out of your mind!" Perez continues. "I'll have your badge for this!" Perez backs off, walking away.

"I'll be seeing you again real soon," Don says as Perez walks away.

"Count on it!" replies Perez.

"Come on," David says pulling Don away. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Don says.

"We got something," Colby adds once he's sure Don has settled. "And you're not going to believe it."

Reed sits in his chair, bruised, bloody and laughing as Charlie watches on in horror. Their captor, standing above Reed, strikes him again. The agent grunts from the pain, but continues to play it off. "You hit like a girl," he says in obvious pain. The man winds up and strikes him again.

"You think you're tough," the man says coyly.

"Why don't you untie me and find out," Reed replies, enough anger in his voice to scare most men.

"You will break," the man says evenly. He wheels a cart towards Reed. "Do you know what this is?" he asks, curiously.

"Snow cone maker?" Reed jokes, knowing what it really is. He braces himself as the man pulls two paddles off the machine, holding them near Reed. Charlie can't help but look away as the electricity surges through Reed's body and his agonizing screams fill the warehouse.

Don sits looking at a piece of paper showing the message Reed passed on to the team. On it is written 'L, R, L, R, R, L 27'. His thoughts are interrupted by Amita. "So I plugged in the directions he gave us and tracing all possible 27 mile routes from Charlie's house I came up with the following search area." She presses a few keys and a section of map lights up on the screen.

"That's a residential area," Colby says doubtfully.

"That just doesn't seem like our guys," David admits.

"Okay, well the deal is supposed to go down in an hour," Don says taking control again. "Liz you and David take a SWAT team and get setup." The two agents nod and head out the door.

"What do you think Don?" Colby asks, regarding the map. Don considers the map but it doesn't feel right to him.

Alan notices Don's doubt. "How would he know how many miles they went?" he asks.

"What do you mean?" Colby wonders.

"Well," Alan continues, "sitting in a van, travelling through the city. It's not like there's mile markers or anything."

"So, what, maybe an address," Don wonders looking at the screen.

"Time," Amita says realizing. She punches in some keys and a new search area appears. "This is the area for 27 minutes."

Don analyzes the new search area when something catches his eye. "Here," he says pointing to a warehouse on the map. "Colby, you're with me." The two agents rush out of the briefing room.

Reed sits hunched over in his chair, breathing heavily. He slowly lifts his head up to face his captor. "Do me a favor," Reed says trying to catch his breath. "If you're gonna torture me," he continues, struggling with every word. "Let me know first; so I can brace myself."

The man smiles at Reed with respect. "I admire you agent Reed," the man says as he pulls a gun out of his waist. He points it at Reed.

"Go ahead," Reed says lifting his head with a new source of energy. "Pull the trigger," he continues.

"Reed," Charlie pleads, unable to control his silence anymore. "Stop it, please."

"Shut up Charlie!" Reed yells, focusing on his captor. "Go ahead," Reed continues. "You kill me and you don't get to break me. You kill me and I win." Reed continues with clenched teeth.

"Maybe," the man says as he looks back at Charlie. Reed's face twists with fear and anger when he notices this.

"This is between you and me," Reed says, trying to hide the emotion in his voice.

"Yes it is," the man says as he lifts the gun up from Reed's head.

"No!" Reed yells, looking at Charlie with worry.

The man turns his full attention to Charlie. He aims the gun at Charlie, who looks away closing his eyes, paralyzed with fear.

"No!" Reed pleads with the man. "Charlie! Charlie! I'll kill you!" Reed struggles trying to free his restraints.

Charlie clenches his teeth in the darkness. He wants to open his eyes but the fear won't let him. The sound of the gunshot rattles him. It's immediately followed by another before the silence.

Charlie opens his eyes, looking at the body of his captor on the ground before him. He scans the room until he sees his brother Don lower his weapon. Colby, standing next to Don, speaks in his radio. "We got 'em."

Charlie stands outside the warehouse near the back of an an ambulance. He watches as they wheel Reed out on a strecher. "You okay Charlie?" Don asks worried.

Charlie watches as they load Reed onto the ambulance. He nods he's okay to his brother. "You know he's crazy," Charlie says referring to Reed.

Don looks at his brother lovingly. "It's okay, don't worry about it," Don says wrapping his arm around him.

Colby approaches the two. "You okay Charlie?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responds. "I'm fine."

"Liz just called," Colby continues, addressing Don. "Two of the men they were after at the drop are in critical condition, the rest were killed."

Don nods. "Okay."

"One of the men killed was ex-FBI," he finishes. "We think he was behind it."

Don nods at him again. "Come on Charlie, let's get you home."

Don sits at the head of the picnic table in Charlie's backyard. Reed sits at the other end with Alan, Charlie and Amita on one side, Colby, David and Liz on the other. "Well that was good, thank you," Reed says.

"Oh you're welcome," Alan replies.

Liz rises, "Amita, how about a game of pool."

"Yeah okay," Amita responds.

"You're gonna play pool," Colby asks the women doubtfully.

"Why not?" Amita smirks.

"No reason," Colby responds quickly.

"Better watch yourself there Colby," Don jokes, as the women rise and head inside.

"Well," Alan says raising his beer. "Here's to Agent Reed's speedy recovery."

"I still think you're crazy," Charlie says to Reed raising his beer.

"Oh yeah," Reed says as he takes a sip.

"Yeah," Charlie responds, "I've never seen anyone enjoy getting tortured before."

"Charlie, come on," Alan says. Charlie doesn't seem to notice his tone.

"Well, I bore easily," Reed responds, covering it up with a laugh.

"Charlie, why don't you help me clean up," Alan says interrupting the conversation.

Charlie rises. "Sure dad."

"We'll give you a hand, right Colby?" David says.

Colby rises with him. "Sure." He and David head toward the house with Charlie. Alan follows at a distance.

When Charlie gets into the house, Alan turns around to address Agent Reed. "You'll have to forgive Charlie. He's a genius when it comes to some things, but others..." he just shrugs. "Anyway, thank you." Agent Reed nods to him with a smile as Alan walks into the house.

Inside the house David and Colby help Charlie with the dishes. "Why do you gotta be so hard on the guy, Charlie" David asks.

"What, you should have seen him," Charlie responds. "He was practically asking for it."

"Well he was Charlie," Colby explains.

"But why would anyone want to be..." Charlie begins to ask but Colby cuts him off.

"Because Charlie," he says, unsure whether or not he should continue. "As long as they were torturing him..." he pauses giving Charlie a moment to realize the obvious for himself.

"They weren't torturing me," he finally realizes. He watches Reed sitting outside with his brother. Colby pats him on the shoulder, reasurring him.

Don sits outside with Reed in silence for a moment. "So you about ready to come back to work?" he asks as he takes another sip.

"To be honest, I was enjoying my vacation," Reed jokes.

"Yeah, well don't get too soft on me," Don says laughing.

"Wouldn't think of it," Reed answers.

"You know," Don says a little more seriously. "What you didfor Charlie, it was,"

"Don't mention it," Reed interrupts. "Anyway, he's part of the team right?"

"Yeah," Don nods. "He is." He looks in the window at his brother.

"Besides," Reed continues. "I been tortured before."

"Yeah?" Don asks curiously. Reed nods, laughing as he takes a sip of his beer. "Think maybe now you can tell me,"

"Not a chance," Reed interrupts, as both men laugh. Reed sits there a long moment staring at Charlie and the others through the window. "I got their back you know."

"Yeah," Don says, "I know." Don tips his bottle forward saluting Reed who reciprocates. Both men take a sip and stare at each other in silent admiration.

The End


End file.
